By Feroza Master
This isn’t your average line dancing troupe.
Forget about the macho, drunken cowboys and the fun-loving cowgirls, all wearing Stetson cowboy hats while dancing in rigid lines on the hardwood floor of a dark bar. And don’t expect stiff methodical movements to the latest Top 20 country songs.
The Bytowne Boots, a predominantly homosexual dance troupe, have spent the last 11 years dispelling stereotypes.
Instructor David Roberts has been with the group for 10 years.
“I’m a big burly guy, but I wouldn’t call myself a cowboy and I’ve shown horses for over 20 years,” he said.
The group formed in the early 1990s when line dancing was at the height of its popularity. The intention was to get members of the gay community to come out and socialize.
The Boots have seen as many as 100 people show up for practices, which take place every Monday night at the Jack Purcell Community Centre. The troupe now has over 60 members. About 30 show up to practice sessions.
They also dance every Thursday night at the Centretown Pub from 9 p.m. to midnight. In addition, they recently hosted their tenth annual hoedown.
And not everyone is gay.
“We started off being a gay group,” Roberts said. “Now there’s people coming and going here all the time, gay and straight.”
Among them are many straight women who used to dance at Straits, a popular country bar in Bells Corners. After it shut down, the Boots welcomed the girls with open arms.
Sue Andre from Jasper, Ont. makes the hour-long drive into Ottawa every Monday night for practice.
“We have a good time. We can give them all kinds of hugs and everything. And they love it and so do we. You couldn’t do that in a straight community. . . They’d think you were hitting on them,”she said as she smiled and put her arms around Roberts.
The group still wants to be known as a gay line dancing troupe, however, Roberts enjoys having a mixed group.
“I like it because it seems that the world is changing and people are more acceptable to the fact that you’re gay now,” he said. “All these people…understand our feelings. They know where we’re coming from. A lot of them are religious…and they’re not condemning us. They’ve met us. They like us. We all like each other.”
Overall, Roberts insists it’s important to keep an open mind.
“I’ve seen a lot of people dancing, gay and straight, huge women and men down to really tiny women and men,” he said. “And to me, the main stereotype of the big burly cowboy for line dancing – it’s not. I think if you enjoy dancing, if you like good music, if you’ve got some rhythm or even if you don’t, it’s not just line dancing. . .it’s a way of getting out of the house and meeting new friends.”